Japanese Rugby Is on the Rise

The Japanese team celebrates winning the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy in Hong Kong, Saturday.

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Japan’s stature in world rugby grew further over the weekend as the country qualified for the 2015 Junior World Championship after it won the final of a two-week tournament in Hong Kong.

The team’s 35-10 victory over Tonga in the Junior World Rugby Trophy means it will play in the 2015 World Championship in Italy, alongside the world’s top junior teams. The triumph of the under-20’s team follows hot on the heels of Japan becoming the first Asian nation to qualify as a core team in the World Series for rugby sevens.

Sevens and junior rugby are both important phases in the development of rugby players. Japan’s full 15-a-side national team also is tasting success, under the guidance of Australia’s former coach Eddie Jones. Last year, Japan beat Wales in Tokyo. The Welsh team was depleted as its top players were representing the British and Irish Lions elsewhere, but it was still the greatest result in Japan’s rugby history.

Mr. Jones, who is back at the helm in Japan after suffering a stroke last year, aims to get the team into the world’s top 10 by next year’s World Cup in England. Japan is 13th in the International Rugby Board world rankings, ahead of Italy, which plays in the annual Six Nations, the Northern Hemisphere’s top international rugby tournament.

Players from Japan and Tonga listen to their national anthems ahead of Saturday’s final.

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The progress being made at all levels of rugby in Japan comes at an opportune time, given that the country is hosting the World Cup in 2019. Tokyo is also hosting the Olympics in 2020, and rugby sevens will feature after making its debut at the Games in Rio 2016.

Rugby World Cups have only been played in the real hotbeds of the sport: New Zealand, the U.K., South Africa, France and Australia, and the 2019 tournament will mark a step into the new territory of Japan. Better late than never.

And better that Japan is growing as a rugby nation. In the IRB world rankings, Japan is one behind Tonga in 12th spot. But Japan’s junior team swept the Tongans aside in Hong Kong this past weekend, scoring four tries.

“This is a very important victory for our country. This is the next generation of players, the future of Japan rugby and I’m very proud of the boys,” the IRB quoted Japan’s coach Keisuke Sawaki as saying. “As a nation we must now put more focus on this squad as we look ahead to the 2019 Rugby World Cup.”

Winning the Junior World Rugby Trophy means Japan qualifies for the 2015 Junior World Championship. This year’s championship, the seventh since its launch in 2008, takes place in New Zealand in June. New Zealand has won the title four times, while South Africa and England have won once.

The U.S. and Georgia compete in a lineout during their match at Hong Kong Football Club, April 11.

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The U.S. was among eight nations competing for the Junior World Rugby Trophy in Hong Kong. It finished second in its group after losing 28-22 to Tonga on April 15. In its other matches, the U.S. scraped past Georgia 13-12 in an error-filled encounter on April 11 and dispatched Hong Kong 37-0 on April 7. The U.S. won the third-place playoff on Saturday, beating Uruguay 26-25.